Using and storing digital evidence in proving in criminal proceedings

Introduction: the article is devoted to the using and storing digital evidence in Russian criminal proceedings. At present, the increase in the intensity of information flows, the development of information resources, the increase in the volume of important, significant information stored on various, both material and virtual media, are of particular importance, which, among other things, is considered in this article. Materials and Methods: the materials of the study were law enforcement acts of the Investigative Committee of Russia and the Federal Customs Service, scientific works on criminal proceedings on the storage of digital evidence. The research methodology is represented by a set of regulatory, universal scientific methods, including modeling, system-structural and logical. Results: it is recommended to solve the challenges in preservation and development of the mechanism of the "life cycle" of evidence. The author proposes to place digital evidence in the "digital evidence storage room". The paper describes the complete process of the movement of an object, starting from its placement in the “digital evidence storage chamber” and ending with its irretrievable removal. The author's definition "sustainability of digital evidence" is given. Discussion and Conclusions: in the paper, the author proposed the concept of the “life cycle” of digital evidence in the form of a flowchart.